Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi expressed disappointment in the Green Shirts after the loss against India, saying that this poor performance indicates the need for a “major surgery”.
Speaking to journalists after the Pakistan vs India match at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, Naqvi said that the “defeat against India was disappointing in every sense”.
Pakistan on Sunday suffered a humiliating loss against the arch-rivals as they lost by six runs despite an impressive performance by the bowlers who restricted the opponents to 119 after winning the toss.
The PCB chairman said that he “knows what is going on in the team and what are the reasons for losing”.
“It seemed that a minor surgery would work but after this bad performance, I’m now sure that a major surgery is required. The nation will soon see a major overhaul,” said Naqvi.
The chairman further said that their biggest challenge is to improve the team’s performance as it is currently at the lowest level.
Speaking about the upcoming events, Naqvi said that they have to prepare a team for the Champions Trophy 2025. “The time has come to give a chance to the outside talent,” he asserted.
“We have to make the Pakistani cricket team one of the best in the world. The nation does not expect such a disappointing performance from the cricket team,” said Naqvi.
Pakistan’s irresponsible batting line-up threw away a golden opportunity to put the country’s campaign back on track, by failing to cross the line against India.
The reckless batting line-up fell miserably in pursuit of a meager 120 runs target and was restricted to 113 for 7 at the end to hand over an unlikely six-run win to arch-rivals.
The defeat has now left Pakistan with very few options as they are now waiting for the outcome of other matches before knowing well whether they would in a position to qualify for the next stage.
Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bowl first on a two-paced pitch where Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf picked up three wickets each while Rishabh Pant was India’s biggest contributor with a quick knock of 42 as they were dismissed for 119.
In response, Mohammad Rizwan laid the platform for the chase with a patient knock of 31 but Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals while India’s fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah made crucial dismissals to finish with figures of 3-14.
The result keeps India perfect in Group A with two wins from their opening two matches while Pakistan have zero points from two defeats following their upset by the hosts, the United States, in their first game.